The NBA Conference Finals tip off tonight. DraftKings fantasy contests close at 9:00 Eastern but will not be decided until tomorrow night. They are listed as Tu-We in the Lobby, where you can choose among GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) tournaments, Double Up (top 50% share the winnings equally), Triple Up and many other formats. Play for free, for 25 cents, $1, $2 and every other price range up to $1000 or more — whatever suits your budget and confidence level. Tomorrow you can enter We-Th contests; a 2-day format is standard the rest of the way.
We took a detailed look at both games in yesterday’s Spin, so this will be relatively brief. The latest report on Kyrie Irving $7200 (knee) says he practiced on Monday and “vows” to play. How well, and for how long, remains uncertain. LeBron James $11400 (back) and Iman Shumpert $5200 (groin) are also not 100% — who is, at this time of year? — but have been playing well anyway.
DK matches your first deposit 100% (up to $600) with bonus funds that convert to cash, plus you get a FREE entry in the $40K Sharpshooter — the top score earns $3,000 and 3,236 of 15,332 teams will get paid. Odds are even better in the $30K Crossover, normally a $27 buy-in. That contest has 250 guaranteed prizes ($3,500 for first) and only 1,267 teams.
The Hawks might be healthier than they were at the beginning of their series with Washington. All five starters and Dennis Schroder $4600 are worthy of consideration. However, that Game One on Wednesday will probably not be as high-scoring as tonight’s.
My advice (always free and worth every penny) is to use as many players from Golden State and Houston as possible. The maximum is seven. LBJ is the “obvious” choice from tomorrow’s game, but expensive. Schroder or Shumpert fill that 8th-man requirement at less than half the cost.
PG is extremely thin; most lineups will feature Stephen Curry $10400 or Jeff Teague $7300. It’s too bad that Jason Terry $4300 is eligible only at SG and kind of ridiculous, given that the Rockets also have James Harden $9500 and Corey Brewer $4500 at that loaded position. The same applies to Matthew Dellavedova $3700, the only backup PG on the Cavaliers, who use Shumpert and J.R. Smith $4800 at the two. Delly might be a combo guard, but DK pools would be far more interesting if he was PG-eligible.
In the Short List below and my sample lineup (left) I’m trying to save money at SF. LeBron vs. DeMarre Carroll $6900 is a key matchup in the East and Trevor Ariza $6600 will also have a tough defensive assignment, presumably covering one of the Splash Brothers. Harrison Barnes $4900 might have some post-up chances against Harden or Terry. Choosing between him and Andre Iguodala $4500 is such a tossup, I’m using both.
At PF, anyone but Paul Millsap $8200 or Draymond Green $7700 is a risky play. I like Green because it’s the Rockets’ weakest position. Tristan Thompson $5800 is more affordable but the matchup with Millsap is difficult and the Canadian has a sore shoulder.
We all know that Dwight Howard $8700 has been dominant for three straight games and he deserves to be the highest-salaried center. However, I’m expecting a slight emotional letdown from the entire team. Al Horford $7900 will have a much easier time scoring.
There are very few extreme bargains who are safe bets. Shaun Livingston $2500, Pablo Prigioni $2700, James Jones $2200, David Lee $3000, Mike Scott $2000 and Mike Muscala $2300 will at least be in the rotation but it’s hard to imagine any of them having huge numbers. Still, punting one spot with an ultra-cheap guy allows toy to be stronger at the other seven positions.
Enter early, before the best contests are full. You can make unlimited lineup changes until 9:00 ET and anyone you use from the Cavs-Hawks game can be replaced until 8:30 tomorrow.
| Pos | Premium | Midrange | Bargain |
| PG | Stephen Curry $10400 | Jeff Teague $7300 | Dennis Schroder $4600 |
| SG | James Harden $9500 | Klay Thompson $7400 | M. Dellavedova $3700 |
| SF | LeBron James $11400 | DeMarre Carroll $6900 | Andre Iguodala $4500 |
| PF | Paul Millsap $8200 | Draymond Green $7700 | David Lee $3000 |
| C | Dwight Howard $8700 | Al Horford $7900 | Andrew Bogut $5000 |
The Fantasy Spin features DFS advice every day of the NBA season. Follow Kent Williams @SheridanFantasy for updates.